By Sam McDonald
没有什么比在遥远的地方待一段时间更能帮助你了解你的家乡和你自己了.
问问最靠谱的网赌软件(Old Dominion University)的六名学生就知道了。今年春天，作为一项创新活动的一部分，他们花了一周时间探索了西雅图, 身临其境的学习体验，结合虚拟课程和实地参观, interviews and conversations.
Through a faculty-led “study away” program, students took a semester-long, three-credit course that culminated in a short travel component. After returning, they analyzed their findings, and collaborated on an ePortfolio that distilled what they learned.
“这是我第一次参加海外学习项目，我很惊讶自己竟然如此喜欢它,” said Norfolk native Riley Cunningham. First-hand experiences deepened understanding, Cunningham said. 例如, 最靠谱的网赌软件的学生参观了西雅图一家最靠谱的网赌软件电视台，并与工作人员就媒体中的种族和性别代表性问题进行了交谈.
“We could read about it in a book all we wanted, 而是和那里的人见面，和同学们交流, that was amazing,” said Cunningham, who is a 女性 and Gender Studies and Psychology double major.
“我会马上再来一次，我会把它推荐给任何人.”
这门课, titled “LGBTQ+ 组织al 文化 in the Pacific Northwest,由Alison Lietzenmayer教授，Carla Harrell和梅根·麦斯协助.
该旅行团的西雅图行程包括派克市场和太空针塔等旅游景点, 大多数访问集中在与课程目的相关的地方-通过与酷儿社区相关的批判性文化研究镜头检查组织沟通.
Stops included the Microsoft corporate headquarters; the Wing Luke Museum, which documents the cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders; and the Pioneer Square neighborhood, where the group took a guided walking tour of queer history sites.
“我们的课程旨在审视和批判性地分析大型科技公司在更大的组织文化中支持和庆祝LGBTQ+文化的方式,” explained a course description. “我们的目标是了解这些空间中的组织政策和性别沟通，以促进公平和激进的包容性.”
Quinn Summers, a sophomore journalism major, 创建了一个类似播客的音频记录，记录了西雅图的反应和观察.
Summers was particularly affected by the newsroom visit. NBC affiliate KING-TV, 五频道, 投入资源覆盖西雅图地区的不同社区. It airs regular “Facing Race” segments to highlight social issues.
Roberta Romero, executive producer for “Facing Race,他告诉ODU的学生，最靠谱的网赌软件记者经常低估他们报道的连锁反应, Summers recalled.
“重要的是要考虑组织与LGBTQ社区所做的工作的影响,” Summers said in the audio journal. “这是多样性的一部分——考虑我们的行为对与我们互动的不同社区的影响.”
在西雅图的经历与课程没有直接关系，但也很有意义.
“这是我人生中第一次和很多变性人在一起，这真的改变了我的生活,” Summers said. “Inside or outside the assignment, it’s absolutely true.”
Lietzenmayer, a master lecturer who teaches at ODU remotely from her home in Seattle, conceived and launched the Seattle study away program in 2022. The 2024 version was its second offering.
Lietzenmayer在西雅图居住了10年，他热切地分享对当地社区的见解. “支持LGBT倡导工作和社区建设对我来说非常重要，”她说.
In addition to teaching, Lietzenmayer是ODU传播和戏剧艺术系高级经验和实习主任, 并担任新成立的君主人文实习学院的教师发展主任.
她看到了当学习扩展到课堂之外时可以释放的力量.
“对我来说, it’s really important to meet people where they are,”她说。, noting that study abroad is prohibitively expensive for some students. “去西海岸旅行可能和去另一个国家一样会受到文化冲击. 我喜欢使用我能接触到的资源并与他人分享.”
课程负责人卡拉·哈雷尔(Carla Harrell)参加了2022年和2024年的课程, 并在传播与戏剧艺术系担任硕士讲师，提供性别与人际传播方面的专业知识.
“整个学习体验为参与者提供了如何驾驭旅行的成长, to negotiating different cultural norms, 当然，让自己沉浸在课程所涵盖的主题中所带来的教育,” Harrell 分享d.
Another of the course’s leaders, 梅根·麦斯, 为老道明的学术成功中心管理电子投资和数字计划.
“探索西雅图的LGBTQ+组织文化是一次超越教科书知识的沉浸式旅程,” Mize wrote. “与学生们一起与政策影响者和社区倡导者互动，突显了教育在行动中的变革潜力.”
在外学习的学生温特·费森在从太平洋西北公司工作归来后，得到了IBM的一份工作. 费特森今年春天毕业，获得了心理学学位，同时辅修了管理和沟通两门课程.
通过参观微软总部并与那里的专业人士交谈，建立了信心, Lietzenmayer said, made Fayson’s job interview easier. “She could say, ‘I do belong here. I know how to do this.’ And she nailed it.”